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Friday, March 26, 2010

Krazy Love

If you aren’t a regular over at A Place Called Simplicity, you simply must check it out. You could randomly select any post and know how crazy in love with Jesus and the orphan Linny and DW are!

She’s issued this amazing Crazy Love challenge asking folks to share their needs so the body of Christ can read about them, pray about them, and maybe even meet them, as the Spirit leads. Seriously. Put ‘em out there. That’s a hard one! As one hand is typing, the other wants to delete here. In fact, it’s taken me two days to decide to post this.

Some of you have read of our complete ignorance of adoption and then how God instantly gripped our hearts in late 2003. We praise Him for allowing us to be a voice for those without one ever since. There hasn’t been a time since 2003 that we weren’t in the adoption process. We’ve been home almost five months with our two newest treasures, and we’re still making changes in our household.

We have been incredibly blessed to grow our family by five over the last six years, and what’s truly amazing is that we never had money set aside for any of the adoptions.

We love hearing how God has touched a family’s heart for adoption, the mountains He moves to bring His plans to fruition, and the opportunity to invest in the miraculous journey. We usually hear of a family’s need before the child is home, but I’m going to share our need afterward. Do you have any idea how difficult this is?!?

If you read this post on our blog, you already know that God still performs miracles today! His resources are unlimited, and just because He has provided miraculously already doesn’t mean He won’t do it again…and again…for every family!

In 2003 we jumped out of our comfort zone and followed God with reckless abandon. When we brought our daughter Kayden home in 2004, we still owed $9,000 on the process, but we knew we were supposed to adopt again. Saddled with that burden but armed with faith, we dove into our second process. We applied for grants, made and sold adoption decals, held a garage sale, whittled our budget and applied every extra penny to the process until we traveled for Kambry in 2007, only to realize that God had provided all the funds we needed, not only for the current process, but the first one as well!

Later in 2007 we again knew we were to adopt, and though our past costs were covered, we had nothing left. Again, we held fundraisers and applied for grants, but in the end we were $12,000 short when we brought Kaeleb home in 2008.

Nevertheless, we again recognized God’s voice in 2008 to begin an adoption process that ultimately would grow our family by two! We again applied for grants, held fundraisers, turned off cable, stopped eating out and saved every penny we could. Miraculously, a week before we traveled we had all we needed... until we found out our travel fees were more than expected. Through an amazing series of God-orchestrated events, we received gifts from other families and received an emergency interest-free loan, providing the final $4000 needed to make the trip for Kinley and Kooper!

Last year a water line broke and flooded our home, and while our insurance paid for most of the repairs, we were out of our home for two weeks and unable to work for nearly a month (we’re both self-employed), causing us to use our credit cards to pay bills. Folks, this is NOT how God wants us to live, accumulating debt! In retrospect, we could have probably made some different choices, even under circumstances beyond our control. We are paying the consequences for those.

The bottom line is we still owe the $12,000 from our third journey, $4,000 from our last journey and two months’ worth of bills on our credit cards. Because our children’s needs are greater than we anticipated, we have had to reduce our work schedules to make sure one of us is always home to meet their needs. Our health insurance just increased to $670 per month with a $5000 deductible, and we have several procedures coming up. We have cashed out our small ‘retirement’ fund to pay toward our adoption costs because we know that everything we have truly belongs to the Lord and He gives us the opportunity to manage it.

What am I asking for? Simply that you would pray! Please pray that we would be good stewards of God’s provision, that we would give only Him the praise, and that we would not allow our present circumstances to hinder our listening to His call. We are members of an amazing church (First Baptist Church Ringwood). Our church family has supported us through prayer and giving, and the number of adoptive families in our small church continues to grow, praise the Lord!

We have always tithed, but five months ago we were convicted to tithe from our gross proceeds rather than the amount after self-employment taxes and expenses. God has so blessed that decision! In fact, the morning after we made the decision to obey in tithing, we received an unexpected gift of $1000 toward our adoption process!

We love our church family and enjoy serving as: a Deacon family, part of the volunteer youth staff, youth Sunday school teachers, adoption ministry and bus maintenance :)As much as we want to pay off our past adoption expenses, we have only been able to apply minimally.But God… Is our Provision;Is in control;Provides all we need;Is teaching us to depend solely on Him;Blesses our obedience;Teaches us in the Khaos of daily life;Extends His unending grace;Doesn’t expect us to journey without Him!

We love answering questions about our adoption miracles, and you may contact us here. Thank you for praying for our family!

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Connie, Once again you have encouraged me through your constant faithfulness to God. My husband and I are just beginning our 2nd and 3rd adoptions and fun raising full force and most of all learning more than ever how to rely on God to provide. My husband Brad, daughter Lexi and I will "pray you through", and we will be waiting to hear your praise reports about how God has continued to bless you. Mary

Sweet friend,I am so thankful that you "bit the bullet" and posted about your needs...let's see what God is going to do...either way, He is going to show up BIG TIME...I just know it!! Can't wait to see how!

Much love...PS Do you still want to talk? Call me...Ooopss, almost posted my cell...haha..what a dork, huh?

Prayer is powerful and you are all so faifull! Be strong and the Lord will follow you throuhg. Committ to the Lord in all you do and your plans will succedd(Proverbs 16:3) You stay committed and strong! I know you can:) Prayers your way

About Me

Lifeline's Special Focus Children

Lifeline's Special Focus Children

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!" Author unknown